1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a heat dissipating beam for use in connection with constructing multi-story commercial buildings and especially with protecting such buildings against fire. The heat dissipating beam has particular utility in connection with reducing structure failure due to exposure to fire by providing conduits along the beam and through which water or another suitable fluid would flow to dissipate any heat buildup in the beam.
2. Description of the Prior Art
High rise structures have increasingly come under scrutiny since the World Trade Center collapse in an effort to avoid structural failure due to heat induced weakening. Steel columns extending through several stories of multi-story structures have the high-thermal conductivity necessary to quickly transmit high temperatures from the area in which the fire is present to areas free from fire. As the columns or beams heat up, they are also susceptible to strength failure and can cause the structure to collapse. Therefore, a device which could dissipate a heat build-up in structural beams would provide a first response in combating structural failure during fires, diminishing structural damage and providing an increased amount of time for inhabitants of the building to escape during a fire.
The use of structural components with heat dissipation considerations is known in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 273,556 to Samuel Liddle discloses a fire-proof structure that consists of a building constructed of metal plates attached to both sides of perforated iron posts and beams and forming a hollow shell wherein the shell can be filled with water from a reservoir above the building in case of fire. The water can subsequently be drained into a tank situated below the building and pumped back into the reservoir after the fire is over. However, the shell formed around the structure taught by the Liddle '556 patent would not be adequate for dissipating heat in a multi-story building since the internal portion of the structure would not have heat dissipation capabilities. Furthermore, the Liddle '556 patent would require an additional layer of material on each of the outer walls, ceilings, and floors, which would be extremely costly for a large building. Finally, the water reservoir necessary to fill a shell on a multistory building would make the Liddle '556 patent impractical for use with larger structures.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,191,243 to Byron A. Donzis discloses a channel beam having heat transfer fluid disposed within the interior region of the beam that can be connected to the fluid within adjacent beams to form a continuous conduction path beneath a planar surface area. The heat energy incident on the upper surface area of the adjacent beams is transferred to the heat transfer fluid flowing within the beams and can be converted to a more useful form of energy. However, the Donzis '243 device utilizes a channel beam that is suitable for horizontal surfaces and would not be utilized in developing the vertical supports of a multi-story building. Furthermore, since the fluid flows through the interior of the beam in the Donzis '243 device, any cracks or faults in the beam could lead to leakage of the fluid.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 3,893,271 to Joseph C. Kotlarz discloses a basic beam structural member having a unitary, elongated rigid beam with a pair of parallel, opposed channel-shaped portions connected by a pair of spaced walls positioned inwardly from the sides and defining a longitudinally extending slot. The same beam is used as the basis for all structural members, and a metal or plastic rectangular tube is inserted into the slot to provide additional strength and to facilitate interconnection of multiple structural elements. However, the Kotlarz '271 patent does not introduce a heat dissipating liquid into the beam member to aid in prevention of structural failure due to fire. Nor does the Kotlarz '271 patent provide a connective conduit means for continuous flow of such a liquid along connected elements.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,616,583 to Hans Weineck and Gottfried Jacob discloses a column arrangement for multistory structures in which the column is hollow and a coaxial inner duct is provided for introducing water permanently or upon the development of fire into the chamber surrounding the inner duct and enclosed by the outer column. However, the Weineck, et al. '583 patent requires the use of hollow steel columns for the construction of multistory buildings and would not be suitable for use in buildings constructed from steel beams. Additionally, since the duct through which the water passes is located within the column of the Weineck, et al. '583 device, it would be difficult to pinpoint faulty ductwork. Finally, the use of hollow columns in the Weineck, et al. '583 device could affect the overall strength of the structure.
Lastly, U.S. Pat. No. 2,809,074 to James L. McDonald discloses a structural beam used to form floors or ceilings and with an integral conduit sprinkler system that consists of a floor or ceiling joist or truss with a bowed midsection into which a flexible conduit can be inserted for connection to a sprinkler system. However, the McDonald '074 patent requires the conduit to be inserted in the structural element which would be more time consuming and possibly more costly than having it attached externally. Furthermore, finding conduit failures could be more difficult in the McDonald '074 device since they might exist inside a structural element. Finally, the structural elements addressed by the McDonald '074 patent are suitable for use in floors and ceilings but would not be suitable for use in constructing the vertical portion of a multi-story building.
While the above-described devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not describe a heat dissipating beam that provides conduits along the external surface of the beam through which water or another suitable fluid would flow to dissipate any heat buildup in the beam. The Donzis '243 and McDonald '074 patents address structural elements suitable for use in floors and ceilings that would not be used in constructing the vertical portion of a multi-story building, while the Weineck, et al. '583 patent addresses hollow steel columns that would not be suitable for the construction of many multi-story buildings. Furthermore, use of hollow columns in the Weineck, et al. '583 device could affect the overall strength of the structure. Additionally, the Donzis '243, Weineck, et al. '583, and the McDonald '074 devices provide conduit means in the interior of the structural element, which increases the difficulty in locating and fixing conduit failures. Moreover, the McDonald '074 patent requires the conduit to be inserted in the structural element which would be more time consuming and possibly more costly than having it attached externally. The shell formed around the structure taught by the Liddle '556 patent would not be adequate for dissipating heat in a multi-story building since the internal portion of the structure would not have heat dissipation capabilities, and it would require an additional layer of material on each of the outer walls, ceilings, and floors, which would be extremely costly for a large building. In addition, it would be impractical to implement the Liddle '556 patent in a large structure since the water reservoir necessary to fill the shell would be exceedingly large. Finally, the Kotlarz '271 patent fails to introduce a heat dissipating liquid into the beam member and fails to provide a conduit means for passing such a liquid along connected beam members.
Therefore, a need exists for a new and improved heat dissipating beam that can be used for reducing structure failure due to exposure to fire by providing conduits along the external surface of the beam through which water or another suitable fluid would flow to dissipate any heat buildup in the beam. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need. In this respect, the heat dissipating beam according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in doing so provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of reducing structural failure of multi-story buildings due to heat buildup along the structural elements due to exposure to fire.